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trace00969

Lipstick plant........I am so mad at it right now!!!

trace00969
16 years ago

Okay, let me start by saying I have a lipstick plant (aeschynanthus radicans), nothing special but its full, and growing, and oh so pretty. But it wont bloom. But in the meantime while waiting for her to bloom, I took a few clippings.

A couple went into soil, one went into grodin(rockwool), and a couple went in a small jar on my window sill. They have all rooted, even the ones in water. They all have new growth.....so YAY! for me. But Darn It!!! The one I rooted in water seems to be forming flowers.....can you believe that!!! I see see little 1cm lipstick tubes.....light green, cant really see in them yet, but it doesnt look like the normal growth compared to the rest of them.

I feel like taking the mommy plant and shoving her hard into the water....Bloom ^@%#$#^@^@&

Just had to vent.....thank you......***phew**

Tracy

Comments (25)

  • ines_99
    16 years ago

    you know, I have one of these too, have had it a looonngg time and no flowers! One time it had buds on it, but it was at work and the vines were hanging low enough for someone to brush their head against so someone on my day off took some scissors and cut the bottom 6 inches or so off. I had a fit! No one admitted to it either, I probably should have found out who did it BEFORE throwing my fit (not a pretty sight)....

    Anyway, mine is outside practically in full sun and still no flowers. Let me know if drowning works.

  • Mentha
    16 years ago

    At first I thought you might have mites. More than likely you need to move it into more light and more humidity. So dunking it in the water may be what it needs.

  • trace00969
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I was just kidding about putting it in water......I wonder how I could do this....lol....without killing it.

    Tracy

  • GrowHappy
    16 years ago

    I've also been successful in getting mine to bloom by allowing it to go completely dry and I do mean bone dry. LOL It sits in a western exposure.

  • ines_99
    16 years ago

    hmmm....my plant gets very dry without me intending it to because it is so potbound. Maybe I will let it go even longer and see if that helps

  • trace00969
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I am trying that right now, letting it go dry. Let me tell you though, I normally do it by touching the soil, and lifting the pot and saying okay its dry. But I just got a moisture meter thingy.....and although I say its dry, and super light, moisture meter says the root ball, is still dampish ( on a scale of one to ten, 1 being dry, water being 10) the meter still says about 4-5 in the middle of the plant, around the rootball is reading 1-2......how much drier can I let it go before I start to see damage....lol. I also moved it to the side of a south window.....so it is getting more light.

    I looked at the water rooting today.....I still cant believe it!! there is going to be like 6 flowers....well at leat I will finally see them bloom. What a kick in the butt though....lol.

    Tracy

    Does anyone know if maybe the lipstick plant needs cooler night temps, it has always sat close to an open window....it never gets near freezing now, so maybe this is a bad thing??

    God there are just too many $@#!%#^@ variables!

  • birdsnblooms
    16 years ago

    Ines, being pot bound is a good thing..I had a Lipstick, bought at my grocery store for 2.00..it came in a 4" growing pot..I had a set of plastic hangers, that was nailed to the walls on either side of windows. They came w/4" plastic pots. (1.00 a set at a dollar store) I attached these hangers to west windows..planted Lipstick in the pot that came w/the hanger..Left that Lipstick in the pot for yrs..it was at least 1' long..and bloomed throughout the yr..it wasn't only potbound but would dry out, bone dry..I'd say it flowered every other month, summer and winter..

    Tracy, how many water guages do you have? Do you have another to compare? Sometimes meters go bad or aren't accurate..I'd stick a pencil into soil, check to see if pencil has moist soil after removing it. If it does, the middle of pot is moist. If you're trying to get it to bloom, wait before watering..
    To be honest, I water Lipstick when I think about it..
    Though tropicals love (natural) heat, I believe most plants enjoy a 10-15% drop at night. Mine is kept in the upstairs bathroom, window opened, even when temps dropped in the 50's a wk ago. Oh yes, freezing temps would be disasterous, under 32 a nightmare..actually I wouldn't let it dip under 40. But ironically, when I used the attachments, and grew the other Lipstick, it sat against a freezing west window, yet did fine, so I don't understand..yep, too many (&)(*&() variables..LOL. Toni

  • trace00969
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Well the water rooted plant is so close to blooming, and the mommy plant, the big bushy one, is still, no where close....everyday I check and nothing....lol. And I have moved the mommy to the same south window as the water rooted cuttings. Had to share a couple potential bloom pics!!

    Tracy

    {{gwi:96066}}
    Shot with C160,D395 at 2007-07-26

    {{gwi:96067}}
    Shot with C160,D395 at 2007-07-26

  • Mentha
    16 years ago

    Tracy,
    Have you tried giving it some Eleanors? I wonder if it would be given a boost that way. Another idea is if you have aquarium fish when you clean the tank, give the water to you plants. They love live water. I used to root plants in the back of my fish tank all the time when I had it set up.

  • jodik_gw
    16 years ago

    I thought I was the only one furious with their Lipstick plant! I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one having bloom problems! (Not that I'm glad you're having problems! On the contrary!)

    My plant began with a few cuttings taken from a very large and gorgeous Lipstick plant. I put them in water to root, and they put forth flowers while rooting! I found this odd, but whatever, I thought... Once the roots were established, I potted it up in a good mix, watered it, and waited for it to become as beautiful as it's parent plant. It grew, but after the first flowers while in the rooting stage, nothing!

    I read somewhere that once this plant matures and flowers, that's about it... and that propagation from cuttings won't result in a plant that blooms... I hoped that this information was incorrect, and kept my plant growing nicely in a southern window, although this location is shaded by a large Sycamore tree outside. I have since moved it to an eastern exposure with lots of morning sun... still no blooms!

    It also went through a period over last winter where it lost quite a few of its leaves and looked very threadbare. I gave it a haircut, and it has since put out new green growth, but still no blooms!!

    I think I'm letting it dry out between waterings... and I fertilize every once in a while with diluted liquid houseplant food. It's about 3 years old at this point, planted in a 8 inch hanging basket, which it fills nicely. What else can I do to get the thing to flower??!!

    Help, please!!

  • roflol
    15 years ago

    Don't know if y'all are still beating your heads against a wall about your lipstick plants, or if you've got bloom and are still doing the happy dance about it :-)

    Either way, I found your post because I bought one at the request of my mom who was looking for this plant for a friend's birthday, and wanted more info on it... I'm going to sneak some cuttings from the plant and give it a whirl myself, it reminds me of salvia!... anywho... I found the link below that might offer new info. Specifically look at the 8th paragraph down, it talked about clipping the plant back to 6 to 12 inches after blooming... maybe those mature plants have bloomed and want a haircut before they'll go at it again?

    Best wishes!

    Terri

    Here is a link that might be useful: Info on Lipstick Plant

  • puglvr1
    15 years ago

    Hi terri,

    I just got mine to bloom for the first time since I bought it in Jan this year. I just love it...Good luck with your cuttings. I will have to try the trimming thing after its done blooming, thanks for the link!

    {{gwi:96068}}

  • roflol
    15 years ago

    That's pretty, pugluvr1! Our cuttings are still green and there are roots on at least 3 of them (in water), so here's hoping. Thanks for posting the updated pic of your plant, very inspiring. :)

  • puglvr1
    15 years ago

    Hi terri,

    Congrats on getting your cuttings to root! Hope you see flowers in the near future...thanks for the compliment. I am so glad I discovered this plant, I just love it.

  • larry_b
    15 years ago

    Very nice plant!

    Larry

  • puglvr1
    15 years ago

    Thanks Larry...appreciate it!

  • english_garden_2010
    13 years ago

    Several years ago I had a lipstick plant and it really bloomed. I hung it in the bathroom in front of a window, and it was very happy. Maybe the moisture from the shower was good for it.

  • birdsnblooms
    13 years ago

    English Garden..this thread is two-years old..lol. Don't be offended if no one replies.
    BTW, my Lipstick hangs in the bathroom, west window, sends out pretty red flowers in early spring till summer. I added a variegated lipstick, 'cutting' w/its green cousin, but don't know if it rooted..
    I agree with you..daily showers produce humid air..something lipsticks need. Toni

  • irridium
    13 years ago

    good job, it's been revived after a 2yr hiatus on the lipstick plant. mine's been suffering v badly this winter where it's leaves dropped off almost daily. it's sited next to a west-facing venetian-slatted window (that means in winter, it's fairly dim). i haven't sprayed it before, but last winter, it seemed pretty healthy. i'm not quite sure how it's got to this stage where my treatment of it has been the same. in the growing season, it's been fed weekly (i think) and watered regularly. this winter all my plants have been watered at least once a week, and they haven't been in any unnecessary heat (i didn't put my heating on this winter).
    do you think it was the lack of heat that's causing the leaf-drop? i'd say, the house got as cold as 5 deg. celsius (tho' that's a major estimate!) and the outdoors minus 10 deg. celsius. it's currently sitting upstairs in my east-facing bedroom, where there is more light and a tad warmer than the downstairs room. it's also had a major trim of all the dead bare stems and the unhealthy leaves taken off. anyone to help?

  • meyermike_1micha
    13 years ago

    From the sounds of it. I think we all need to take a vacation a Pug's home since everything she grows delights us to the max. While she is caring for our plants and they are enjoying the warmth, we can all head to the beach for a few days and party.

    By the time our vacation is over, they will all be in bloom and we can take them home as happy as we would be.

    Great Idea?

  • freddydutchman_sbcglobal_net
    13 years ago

    Ilike to know how to kill this plant please give me some suggestions thanks...

  • birdsnblooms
    13 years ago

    Irridium. 5C is pretty chilly, but not cold enough to cause leaf drop, that is, unless you're over-watering.
    Then again, because of the chill, leaves might be dropping like they would in nature. It's a possibilty.
    Is soil drying between waterings? At 5C/40F, soil stays wet for longer periods.

    Lipsticks love sun. Are you fertilizing? If the room is shady, cold, and you're fertilizing, that could explain the reason leaves are falling. Open those blinds..lol.

    Mike, yep, we all should go to Pug's..Pug, if you're reading this, would you mind? 100000 people dropping in? With plants. Dinner would be nice, too. lol

    Fred, whomever you are, you're kidding, right? Toni

  • rjniznik_comcast_net
    13 years ago

    Hi,
    LOVE THIS PLANT!! Got a beautiful cutting from ebay, put it in water, it's blooming (gorgeous)! How long does it take to root in water? I also trimmed it into three pieces so I could put it into a small pot after rooted.
    Please help!!
    THANKS

  • mary
    9 years ago

    I found out they cannot tolerate extreme cold even just for ten minutes! I bought one at a nursery and it was big enough I had to put it int he bed of my pickup.... I drove home, and rushed it inside. It had been around freezing but this was only for like ten minutes. All the leaves turned translucent and died, even though they did not appear frozen or damaged at all when I brought it inside. Fussy! I bought another, and it's doing great. My bad; Lipstick abuse.

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